Happy FRY-day, Everyone! Today’s Wes Montgomery tune is dedicated to 2012 Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
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Even though 3Chics Politico is written and curated by three women: Ametia, Rikyrah, and SouthernGirl2, I must nominate this as one of the most engaging blogs I've found. Devoted to politics and culture, these three shine a light on contemporary life with humor and spirit.
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Fla. Republican: We wanted to suppress black votes
Florida’s disgraced former GOP chairman says the party had meetings about “keeping blacks from voting”
By Alex Seitz-Wald
Friday, Jul 27, 2012 10:34 AM EDT
In the debate over new laws meant to curb voter fraud in places like Florida, Democrats always charge that Republicans are trying to suppress the vote of liberal voting blocs like blacks and young people, while Republicans just laugh at such ludicrous and offensive accusations. That is, every Republican except for Florida’s former Republican Party chairman Jim Greer, who, scorned by his party and in deep legal trouble, blew the lid off what he claims was a systemic effort to suppress the black vote. In a 630-page deposition recorded over two days in late May, Greer, who is on trial for corruption charges, unloaded a litany of charges against the “whack-a-do, right-wing crazies” in his party, including the effort to suppress the black vote.
In the deposition, released to the press yesterday, Greer mentioned a December 2009 meeting with party officials. “I was upset because the political consultants and staff were talking about voter suppression and keeping blacks from voting,” he said, according to the Tampa Bay Times. He also said party officials discussed how “minority outreach programs were not fit for the Republican Party,” according to the AP.
http://www.salon.com/2012/07/27/fla_republican_we_suppressed_black_votes//
No SHIT! That GOPPeris squealing like a pig in heat. What’s in it for him? Could it be $$$$$?
and they consider themselves CHRISTIANS.
……………………
Black couple’s wedding banned by white Mississippi Baptist church
A black couple in Mississippi planning to get married in the predominantly white church they often attend was barred from having their wedding there due to objections from members of the congregation.
Charles and Te’Andrea Wilson were looking forward to exchanging their vows in the First Baptist Church of Crystal Springs in Crystal Springs, Mississippi. The couple had planned everything; the date was set, the invitations were printed and mailed out, pastor Stan Weatherford was ready– then they received horrible news.
“The church congregation had decided no black could be married at that church,” Charles told WLBT. He says that congregants threatened to expel Weatherford from the church if he performed the ceremony.
“He had people… that were pitching a fit about us being a black couple,” Te’Andrea added. “I didn’t like it at all, because I wasn’t brought up to be racist. I was brought up to love and care for everybody.”
Dr. Weatherford told WLBT that he was surprised by his congregation’s opposition to the wedding.
“This had never been done before here,” he said of marrying a black couple, “so it was setting a new precedent, and there are those who reacted to that because of that.”
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/329470#ixzz21rp56eFj
Can’t get enough of THESE GUYS? If you’ve had enough, VOTE for the GUY already in office.
Republicans Blink
By John Cole July 27th, 2012
Apparently they don’t have the stomache for another fight during an election year:
There’s already movement to avoid the fiscal cliff.
House and Senate leadership Thursday approached a deal to fund the government for six months — a move that would avert a Sept. 30 shutdown, and keep the federal government operating through March.
The deal would keep the government funded at the same levels of last year’s debt limit law, a spending level Republicans have consistently dismissed as too high. But it would also avert a messy pre-election showdown over shutting down the government, something neither party wants.
The six-month funding resolution illustrates the sway of conservatives over Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and his leadership team, as the conservative Republican Study Committee, led by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, advocated for a six-month funding resolution instead of a three-month bill preferred by leaders. The Senate also backs a six month funding bill.
Sure would have been nice if they had acted sensibly last year and we would have retained our credit rating.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2012/07/27/republicans-blink/
http://twitter.com/metaquest/status/228916842549350400/photo/1
http://twitter.com/NoShock/status/228912883361267712/photo/1
‘Obamacare’ benefits making a difference
By Steve Benen
Fri Jul 27, 2012 12:35 PM EDT.
As insurance-company rebate checks continue to reach 16 million American mailboxes, thanks to the Affordable Care Act’s 80-20 rule, it’s worth pausing to note that “Obamacare” benefits continue to make a difference.
Last month, for example, the focus was on the millions of young adults who are able to keep their coverage by staying on their families’ plans. This month, it’s the money seniors are saving when they go the pharmacy.
The Obama administration touted the healthcare law Wednesday for saving seniors billions of dollars on prescription drugs.
The Medicare agency released figures showing that millions of seniors and people with disabilities have saved $3.9 billion on medications since the law was enacted.
The data also showed that since the beginning of the year, more than one million Medicare beneficiaries have saved an average of $629 on prescriptions in the “donut hole” coverage gap
That’s not pocket change. For seniors on a fixed income, these kinds of savings are significant
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/07/27/12992493-obamacare-benefits-making-a-difference?lite
Posted at 02:01 PM ET, 07/27/2012
Many conservatives still think Obama is a Muslim
By Jamelle Bouie
Most of the conversation surrounding religion and the presidential election has been around Mitt Romney’s Mormonism. The Church of Latter-Day Saints is still a mystery to many Americans, and there were fears that Romney’s Mormonism would hurt him with voters unfamiliar with the religion. But the latest survey from the Pew Forum for Religion and Public life suggests that Romney has nothing to worry about — of the voters who know that Romney is a Mormon (60 percent), the vast majority say they are either comfortable with his faith (60 percent) or that it doesn’t matter at all (21 percent).
If you divide this along religious lines, the only people uncomfortable with Romney’s Mormonism are white evangelicals, black Protestants, atheists, and agnostics — only 43 percent of the former, for example, do not think that Mormonism is a Christian religion. Even still, more than half of white evangelicals are comfortable with Mormonism, and they overwhelmingly back Romney for the presidential election, showing the degree to which partisanship is a powerful force in elections.
Indeed, of the two candidates, religion actually seems to be a bigger factor for President Obama. Only 49 percent of voters know that Obama is a Christian, and 17 percent continue to say that he’s a Muslim. Among conservatives, 30 say that he is a Muslim; among the most conservative voters that jumps to 34 percent. When Pew first surveyed this question, in 2008, only 16 percent of conservatives believed that Obama was a Muslim. Put another way, as conservatives grew more familiar with Obama, their view of his religious beliefs moved deeper into fantasy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line
AND OBAMA IS BLACK TOO, DON’TCHA KNOW!
Jeff Gauvin@JeffersonObama
Real Clear Politics owned & operated by GOP Operative Steve Forbes still manipulates Poll Avg. to make the race tighter than really is
Mitt Romney: Arab Spring Could’ve Been Avoided By Bush’s ‘Freedom Agenda’
In an interview with the right-wing Israeli daily newspaper Israel Hayom, Mitt Romney said that the Arab Spring might never have happened had Bush’s “freedom agenda” not been prematurely halted by President Barack Obama.
“President [George W.] Bush urged [deposed Egyptian President] Hosni Mubarak to move toward a more democratic posture, but President Obama abandoned the freedom agenda and we are seeing today a whirlwind of tumult in the Middle East in part because these nations did not embrace the reforms that could have changed the course of their history, in a more peaceful manner,” Romney said.
Romney argued that with the rise of democratically elected Islamist governments in some of the countries undergoing revolutions — Egypt and Tunisia in particular — the Arab Spring has turned out to be less of a boon for Western interests than it initially appeared.
“Clearly we’re disappointed in seeing Tunisia and Morocco elect Islamist governments. We’re very concerned in seeing the new leader in Egypt as an Islamist leader. It is our hope to move these nations toward a more modern view of the world and to not present a threat to their neighbors and to the other nations of the world,” he said.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=5207
London 2012 Olympics: Are you watching Mitt? Michelle Obama gives a fun masterclass in diplomacy :
As a lesson in good natured statesmanship – if not to say simple manners – it was a masterclass.
For Michelle Obama cast aside stuffy protocol to join in the fun and games to celebrate today’s opening of the Olympic games with more than 1,000 children.
The First Lady met the children – most of them from U.S. military families – in the grounds of Winfield House, the official residence of the U.S. ambassador in London.
She was joined by David Beckham and Olympic gold-medal sprinter Carl Lewis who signed autographs.
She said: “I’m so excited,” after jogging to the stage as a marching band played the University of Florida fight song.
“I am thrilled to be here on London for the 2012 Olympic games. I am proud to be leading the U.S. delegation to the opening ceremony.”
Mrs Obama, who later tried out sports including tug-of-war and football alongside the children, offered a tribute to military families who had been invited to take part in the event.
“The military families who are joining us from U.S. bases that are stationed here in the U.K., we are so grateful for your service because you all sacrifice so much – you as kids, your mums, your dads,” said the First Lady. “You sacrifice so much for this country and we are so very proud of you.”
FLOTUS PHOTOS IN LONDON! Check her out with David Beckham.
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Michelle+Obama/First+Lady+Michelle+Obama+Greets+Members+2012/DfUsiuoByVY?pa=1&u=qnCWEWf6YrN&tb=C&e=alert&l=title
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Michelle+Obama/Nickelodeon+Let+Move+London+2012/qu-0zYoyoq-?pa=1&u=qnCWEWf6YrN&tb=C&e=alert&l=title
This weekend marks 100 days until election day, and the Obama campaign is holding more than 4,200 events to mark the 100-day milestone before Election Day, engaging supporters and helping reelect President Obama to keep America moving forward.
For more information on how to get involved, go to
http://www.barackobama.com/one
For information about getting registered to vote, go to
http://www.gottavote.org
As Mitt Romney travels abroad, his campaign is deliberately distorting President Obama’s words back home.
Greg Sargent writes about how the star of Romney’s “I built it” event received help from taxpayer dollars: http://wapo.st/MP6quJ
Blog Eschaton explains the #Romneyshambles pun
Romney’s plan would slow the recovery and cost us jobs
By James Kvaal, Policy Director on July 27, 2012
Today we learned that the economy grew for the 12th straight quarter, exports and business investment continue to grow, and the auto industry is growing stronger. But President Obama knows that we need more decisive action to create jobs and help the economy grow faster.
Last September, President Obama put forward a detailed legislative plan—the American Jobs Act—to do just that. The jobs plan would keep teachers, firefighters and police officers on the job, put construction workers back to work, and cut taxes for small businesses that hire and invest and businesses that bring jobs home. But Republicans in Congress have blocked this plan. As a result there are now 1 million Americans who are unnecessarily out of work.
Governor Romney also opposes this jobs plan, saying it was like “throwing a cup of gasoline on embers.” But independent economists disagree—and they say that Mitt Romney’s plan would slow our recovery and cost us jobs. Romney himself acknowledges that spending cuts will damage the recovery. As economist Jeff Liebman has written, based on Romney’s own statements, his plan would cost over 1 million jobs next year.
Romney’s plan for the economy—including tax cuts weighted towards the wealthy and rolling back Wall Street reform—would do nothing to create jobs today, and instead would return us to the failed policies that dug this ditch in the first place.
http://www.barackobama.com/news/entry/romneys-plan-would-slow-the-recovery-and-cost-us-jobs
How Fox News drives a cycle of misinformation into mainstream news
July 26, 2012
“What this recent controversy shows… is that Fox is really running the show. Fox starts the chain of misinformation and the Republicans follow along,” says David Brock, founder of Media Matters for America. Brock explains the cycle where misquotes and out-of-context information move into the mainstream media through venues like Fox News.
>And CNN jumps right on the band wagon. **looking@the rest of cablenetworks too* who give Rush Limpballs airtime. As if this fat fuck should be given any credibility as someone we should really give a flying fungus about what he thinks and says.>
http://current.com/shows/the-war-room/videos/how-fox-news-drives-a-cycle-of-misinformation-into-mainstream-news
Political Animal
Blog
July 27, 2012 12:43 PM
Early Voting and Its Consequences
By Ed Kilgore
The importance of influencing early voting opportunities—particularly in close elections—is a very familiar story in U.S. politics by now, but it’s sometimes easy to forget that this concern has changed the very rhythm of campaigns. RCP’s Alexis Simendinger has a good round-up of the relevant dates for early voting in key battleground states (with Iowa firing the starter’s gun on September 27), and some of the preparations the two presidential campaigns have made. Nearly one of three votes were cast before election day in 2008, and the number is expected to be higher this year. Indeed, over half of the votes will almost certainly be cast early in the battleground states of Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina and Florida, with Ohio not far behind.
The early voting phenomenon has moved the goal posts for presidential candidates and the parties, reshaped the nature of voter mobilization, intensified the focus on battleground states and election laws, and created openings to gauge (and influence) who is winning — and where. It’s also inspired data-driven debates about whether early voting is increasing or decreasing overall turnout
As Simendinger explains, the campaigns have a strong incentive to encourage certain supporters to vote early:
It may not be commonly understood that tallies of early voting (individual’s names, addresses, party registration) are public and open to examination in many states leading up to Election Day. This information affirms for campaigns and the political parties which individuals cast ballots early, or are in the process of doing so. The campaigns are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on techniques and technologies to reach eligible voters. By registering them to participate, then encouraging them to act early, and then shepherding those supporters to the finish line where they can vote early, the campaigns build cushions under their candidates and gather up valuable data along the way.
Locking up votes early means campaign workers can shift to other targets for support, and deploy money, staff and volunteers more efficiently. The campaigns can encourage voters to avoid Election Day lines and inclement weather, and assist them with voter eligibility issues and ballot questions
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_07/early_voting_and_its_consequen038857.php
Political Animal
Blog
July 27, 2012 11:26 AM
“Obama Is Muslim” Meme Rising Among Republicans
By Ed Kilgore
Generally speaking, when politicians become better known, completely erroneous assumptions about their background and identity decline. But not if you are a Republican, and the politician in question is Barack Obama.
A new religion-and-politics poll from Pew shows the percentage of Republicans who say the president is a Muslim has risen from 16 percent in October of 2008 to 30 percent today. Among self-identified “conservative Republicans,” those subscribing to the Muslim Meme is all the way up to 34%.
I suppose it’s possible that if Pew asked these folk if Obama was a Zoroastrian, an Animist, or a devil-worshiper, the numbers would be similar. Anything that sounds vaguely bad sounds vaguely good as a description for Barack Obama. This is another reason that if the president manages to get re-elected, we’ll need to send out the grief counselors to the deepest red parts of the country, and continue Mitt Romney’s Secret Service protection.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_07/obama_is_muslim_meme_rising_am038855.php
July 27, 2012 11:34 AM
Cantor Lays Down Another Marker
By Ed Kilgore
Want another sign that no matter what happens in November, John Boehner’s days as Republican Leader in the House are numbered? Here’s one: days after Boehner went out of his way to agree that Rep. Michele Bachmann had gone over the brink into the dangerous side of Crazytown, his loyal lieutenant Eric Cantor went out of his way to defend the wacky Minnesotan, per Politico’s Tim Mak:
Asked by CBS host Charlie Rose whether Bachmann was “out of line,” Cantor declined to criticize the congresswoman.
“I think that if you read some of the reports that have covered the story, I think that her concern was about the security of the country. So it’s about all I know,” the House’s No. 2 Republican told CBS’s “This Morning.”
The ends justify the means, it seems. And John Boehner had better remember that.
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_07/cantor_lays_down_another_marke038856.php
July 26, 2012 4:40 PM
And Speaking of Bush Administration Leftovers….
By Ed Kilgore
Team Obama’s odds of victory in November depend a great deal on its ability to force an actual comparison of the two candidates’ (and their parties’) policy agendas, particularly with respect to the economy. And on that front, the president has already made it abundantly clear—particularly in his much-praised new “The Choice” ad—that he will continue to tie Romney’s economic strategy to that of Obama’s predecessor.
So it’s not the best sign for Mitt Romney that when he was directly asked by NBC’s Brian Williams yesterday to distinguish his approach to growth and job creation from W.’s, he sort of ignored it and just read his usual talking points. Here’s Jon Chait’s take on the moment and its significance:
The answer was a mere recapitulation of his plans (“Well, let me describe — actually, there are five things that I believe are necessary to get this economy going … ”). I won’t reprint the entire answer, but Romney did not make the slightest attempt to distinguish his approach from Bush’s. Of course that is because it’s the same thing! Every single idea Romney listed — low taxes, free trade, less regulation, developing energy, etc. — was part of Bush’s program.
Now, the usual Republican answer here, on how their approach will succeed where Bush’s failed, is to shout, spending! Romney promises to cut it. Bush also promised to cut it, but didn’t. I don’t think this really answers the main objection — lower spending may help the long-term budget picture, but the policies Republicans most directly associate with economic growth are taxes, regulation, and energy. And here Romney really is proposing the exact same policies as Bush.
But the surprising thing is that Romney didn’t even have that, or any other handy answer to the question. This is a pretty bad political messaging slip-up, but it also indicates a larger problem: Republicans haven’t really internalized the degree to which Bush’s policies truly failed to produce strong economic growth. They blame him for letting spending grow too high, and they recognize that the crash was a bad thing, but conservative rhetoric almost uniformly fails to acknowledge that even pre-crash growth under Bush was absolutely miserable
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_07/and_speaking_of_bush_administr038845.php
Posted at 08:56 AM ET, 07/27/2012
The Morning Plum: Can Dems turn taxes into winning electoral issue?
By Greg Sargent
Next week, the House will vote on two tax plans. The Democratic plan would continue the Bush tax cuts for all income up to $250,000, even that earned by people who make more than that, the “job creators” included. Republicans oppose that plan, and are going to vote on their own, which would continue the low tax rates on all income, including that above $250,000.
Dems are hoping to seize on Republican opposition to the Dem plan to accuse Republicans of holding middle class tax relief hostage to protect the wealth of the rich.
Later this morning, the DCCC will announce that it is launching a grassroots Day of Action tomorrow in the districts of 19 vulnerable House Republicans, including phone banking and door-to-door outreach, to alert constituents to next week’s tax votes. “We’re literally taking the fight over the Bush tax cuts to the streets this weekend,” an aide says.
The larger question is whether the focus on individual votes taken by Republicans on things like taxes and entitlements is enough to break through in an electoral environment dominated by jobs and the economy. Earlier this week, DCCC chair Steve Israel circulated a memo instructing Dem candidates that they should embrace the opportunity to go on offense on taxes. Dems hope to tie the pending vote over the Bush tax cuts to House GOP support for the Paul Ryan Medicare plan to make a broader point about GOP priorities and about which party is really battling on behalf of middle class interests.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line
Romney remembers his NAACP speech differently
By Steve Benen
Fri Jul 27, 2012 10:52 AM EDT.
A couple of weeks ago, Mitt Romney brought his trusted teleprompter to the NAACP convention, where he received a polite reception, right up until he vowed to destroy a health care reform law that brings coverage to 7 million African Americans. The Republican then heard loud and sustained booing.
Soon after, Romney made it seem as if he wanted to get booed. In fact, that night, he told donors in Montana that if NAACP members want “more free stuff” from the government, they should “vote for the other guy.”
Two weeks later, however, the Romney campaign has a new video, reaching out to African-American voters (via ABL).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyDsZ-OtaOI&feature=player_embedded
In this 81-second video — which appears to be a web ad, not a commercial for broadcast — viewers not only see African Americans who apparently support Romney, we also see the former governor receiving hearty cheers from the NAACP.
Funny, I remember the reaction from the crowd a little differently.
I’m going to go out on a limb and guess the effects of this outreach will be limited. In fact, I suspect the intended audience is white moderates, who ostensibly might be impressed that Romney is making the effort in the first place.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/07/27/12991145-romney-remembers-his-naacp-speech-differently?lite
Sane Politicians Don’t Do This
by BooMan
Fri Jul 27th, 2012 at 09:27:25 AM EST
There’s an article in The Hill about Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s recent change in strategy which involves less obstruction and more reliance on John Boehner’s House of Representatives for stalling or blocking the president’s agenda. One example of this is the recent vote to extend the Bush tax cuts for the bottom 98% of Americans. The Senate did not have to overcome a filibuster and was able to pass the law with 51 votes.
Now, let’s think about this. If the House doesn’t go along with the Senate and pass this tax cut extension, taxes will rise on all Americans who pay income tax. Also, since every Republican in the Senate opposed extending the Bush tax cuts, they all voted for a tax hike. Yet, in The Hill article, the Republicans sound like they relished the opportunity to vote against tax cuts for all but the top 2% of Americans.
McConnell told his colleagues in private that he wanted to put vulnerable Democrats such as Sens. Claire McCaskill (Mo.) and Jon Tester (Mont.) on record supporting a hefty tax increase.
“I think it was really smart because every Democrat other than Sen. Webb and Sen. Lieberman ended up voting for a bill that creates a definition between Republicans and Democrats on taxes,” said Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the chairman of the Senate Republican fundraising arm. “It creates a real problem for Democratic incumbents who are running for reelection this time.”
One senior GOP aide said McConnell was eager to force endangered Democratic incumbents to vote on actual tax legislation instead of preliminary procedural issues, which can be minimized on the campaign trail.
This is all utter nonsense. To make any sense of it at all, you have to realize that there were actually two votes in the Senate. The Republicans offered an amendment that would have extended all of the Bush tax cuts for a year. Every Democrat, excepting Mark Pryor of Arkansas, voted against it. Even Joe Lieberman and Jim Webb voted against it. Even Jon Tester and Claire McCaskill voted against it, though they didn’t need to in order for it to be defeated. In this sense, the Democrats voted against a tax cut, even though no one would have actually seen their taxes go down. But they immediately followed that up by voting against a tax hike for everyone but the top two percent.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2012/7/27/92725/8582
What Kind of Jerk?
by BooMan
Fri Jul 27th, 2012 at 11:33:15 AM EST
Here’s a question. If your spouse had a horse competing in the Olympics, would you support her by attending the event? I know I would. What kind of jerk would not? But, here’s Romney:
Romney immediately seemed to distance himself from that part of the Games, stating that it was “a big, exciting experience” for his wife, Ann, and for her trainer, Jan Ebeling, who is riding Rafalca in the competition. “Obviously it’s fun to be part of the Olympics in any way you can be a part of them,” he said.
When Williams pressed Romney for some details about the participation of Rafalca and Ebeling, who earned a place on the U.S. Olympic equestrian team in June—how many rounds and how many chances to win—Romney said he was not familiar with the details.
“I have to tell you. This is Ann’s sport,” he told Williams in an interview that aired on “Nightly News” on Wednesday. “I’m not even sure which day the sport goes on.” He said he would not be watching the event, but hoped her horse would do well.
I mean, he’s not going to lose his bid for the presidency because his wife has a horse in the Olympics. But he might lose it because he’s the kind of guy who lies constantly and treats his wife like furniture.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2012/7/27/113315/610#8
License to steal
By Libby Spencer July 27th, 2012
This bit of fraud at the taxpayers’ expense mostly slipped under the radar this week.
A charter school mogul was charged today in a multimillion-dollar fraud case by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. […]
Brown, 75, and four executives from her charter schools, were charged with defrauding three charter schools of more than $6.5 million in taxpayer funds.
U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger announced that a federal grand jury had returned a 62-count indictment against Brown and four of her trusted employees. […]
“The bottom line is running a charter school does not give you a license to steal,” FBI Special Agent in Charge George C. Venizelos said.
Kay’s the expert on this issue. I’m not well versed but speaking anecdotally, the first charter school I remember being aware of was started decades ago in NYC, devoted to the performing arts. I recall it worked well. In the present day, there’s a charter school for the performing arts in the tiny town of Hadley, MA, that graduated several of my friends’ kids. It also appears to be a very good school and worth the taxpayer investment.
So I’m thinking charter schools aren’t entirely a bad concept when they’re geared to one specialized area of study that serves a certain segment of the student population who excel in it. But for the most part, as far as I can see, the charter school movement as it currently exists doesn’t serve any educational purpose. It’s little more than an open invitation to steal.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2012/07/27/license-to-steal/
The preoccupation with the Churchill bust
By Steve Benen
Fri Jul 27, 2012 9:51 AM EDT.
The UK Telegraph caused a stir this week, quoting a Mitt Romney advisor arguing that the Republican would improve American-British relations because of Romney’s “Anglo-Saxon heritage.” But the same article included another tidbit: two Romney advisors told the reporter the candidate would “reinstate the Churchill bust displayed in the Oval Office by George W. Bush.”
At his London fundraiser with financiers last night, Romney brought this up, too.
As he pulled in checks from at least 250 attendees, Mr. Romney also inserted himself into British politics by saying he would return the bust of Winston Churchill to the White House. When President Barack Obama had it removed in 2009 it caused a minor kerfuffle in the U.K.
“It tugs at the heart strings to remember the kind of example” that Churchill set, Mr. Romney said, “and I’m looking forward to the bust of Winston Churchill being in the Oval Office again.”
The Churchill bust has long been a strange point of interest to conservatives. President Obama, like all presidents, chose pieces to decorate the Oval Office after his inauguration. He selected busts of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., and returned the Churchill bust, which had been on loan from the U.K.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/07/27/12990295-the-preoccupation-with-the-churchill-bust?lite
Romney Has Imploded
by BooMan
Thu Jul 26th, 2012 at 11:02:59 PM EST
Even though some of the Olympic competitions have already started, the opening ceremony is scheduled for 6pm local time tomorrow. Mitt Romney’s itinerary says he’ll be there, but he’d probably like to be anywhere else. All anyone in the U.K. is talking about is how stupid and obnoxious Mitt Romney has been since his arrival in their country. By insulting their preparations for the games, Romney received direct and harsh rebukes from both the Prime Minister and the mayor of London. He also violated Britain’s security protocols by revealing the whereabouts of the head of MI6, their equivalent of the CIA. He forgot the name of the Labor Party’s leader. He questioned whether the country could unite to celebrate the Olympics. And this all came after his adviser said (essentially) that Romney was a better ally of the U.K. than the current occupant of the White House because he isn’t a negro.
Romney will be jeered anywhere he goes in London. This is particularly true because it’s now being reported in Britain that Romney wrote the following in his idiotic 2010 book No Apology: The Case for American Greatness:
England {sic} is just a small island. Its roads and houses are small. With few exceptions, it doesn’t make things that people in the rest of the world want to buy. And if it hadn’t been separated from the continent by water, it almost certainly would have been lost to Hitler’s ambitions. Yet only two lifetimes ago, Britain ruled the largest and wealthiest empire in the history of humankind. Britain controlled a quarter of the earth’s land and a quarter of the earth’s population.
The British media are also reporting that Romney has insulted their health care system and has repeatedly denigrated Europe throughout the primaries and campaign. If all these things were not bad enough, 10 Downing Street has let it be known that they found Romney to be ‘apparently devoid of charm, warmth, humour or sincerity,’ and ‘worse than Sarah Palin.’
And all this criticism is coming from members of the Conservative Party and their preferred newspaper outlets like the U.K. Telegraph and The Daily Mail.
If Romney wanted to make the case that he’d get along with the U.K. better than Obama, he’s failed spectacularly. Tomorrow, he will be the least welcome person at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. And the Olympics were supposed to be Romney’s only remaining strength, since his record as governor is indefensible and his record at Bain Capital is appalling.
http://www.boomantribune.com/story/2012/7/26/23259/3719
Lindsey Graham Defies Party Line as Defense Cuts, GOP Primary Loom
Jul 27, 2012 4:45 AM EDT
He committed Republican heresy by saying revenue needs to be part of any deficit solution. Why the outspoken senator may not have anything left to lose in South Carolina.
Bright and early Monday morning, Sen. Lindsey Graham will hook up with Republican colleagues John McCain and Kelly Ayotte for a 9 a.m. town-hall meeting at the Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation in Tampa. The topic du jour: the grave threat to U.S. national security posed by sequestration.
The Tampa stop is part of a four-state, two-day road show that the three Armed Services Committee amigos are conducting to spotlight the consequences of—and jack up public fear about—the half-trillion dollars in military spending cuts that lawmakers signed on to last fall after spectacularly failing to hammer out a rational, grownup plan for taming the deficit.
Base closings. Inadequate training. Weapons shortages. Iran running amok. China unchecked. Plague. Pestilence. The return of disco. All this and more will rain down upon our heads, we are told, if someone doesn’t stop the sequestration madness.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/27/lindsey-graham-defies-party-line-as-defense-cuts-gop-primary-loom.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheet
meta@metaquest
PBO isn’t running against Romney, an unfit weak candidate. PBO is running against the press, who refuse to investigate & report the truth.
ALL.OF.THIS The media quickly shifted from Romney’s LONDON DEBACLE, actually trying to cover for this pastie-assed LIAR
A defense-cut road trip
By Steve Benen
Fri Jul 27, 2012 8:33 AM EDT.
Republican concerns about the looming, automatic defense cuts are reaching a near-panic. Some high-profile GOP senators are now taking their message on the road, in the hopes that public pressure will change the direction of the discussion.
Three Republican senators vocal on national security concerns plan to hit the road next week to warn voters in four key swing states about how automatic spending cuts at the Pentagon could harm their communities.
Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) plan to visit companies, universities and research centers in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and New Hampshire that could bear the brunt of deep defense spending reduction set to take effect next year.
All three serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee and speak regularly about the danger of the spending cuts that Congress and the White House agreed to last year as part of a deficit-reduction plan. Unless lawmakers approve alternative reductions before January, the government will be forced to slash $110 billion in spending next year, evenly divided between the military and non-defense programs.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/07/27/12989128-a-defense-cut-road-trip?lite
Isn’t this what the RETHUGS signed on for? Squirm, MOFOS, SQUIRM.
7:51 AM EDT, Friday July 27, 2012
Poll: Obama Leads Romney In Ohio
President Barack Obama holds a solid lead Mitt Romney in the perennial bellwether of Ohio, according to a new poll relased Friday.
In the latest auotomated survey from Republican-leaning pollster WeAskAmerica, Obama earns the support of 48 percent of likely Ohio voters, while Romney trails with 40 percent. Gary Johnson, who is running on the Libertarian ticket, picks up the support of 2 percent of voters.
The PollTracker Average currently shows Obama leading in Ohio by a comparable margin, an advantage he has held in the Buckeye State throughout the 2012 campaign.
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/poll-obama-leads-romney-by-8-in-ohio
Romney steps on his own international message
By Steve Benen
Fri Jul 27, 2012 8:00 AM EDT.
Romney waves goodbye to his international credibility.
So, Mitt Romney’s international excursion is off to a rather unpleasant start. The extent to which this affects domestic politics is unclear, but if the Republican presidential hopeful hoped to prove to American voters he’ll be a powerful, credible, leading force on the global stage, at this point, he’s failing miserably.
But there’s another angle to this particular diplomatic disaster that’s significant. As Ryan Lizza noted this morning, one of Romney’s “major foreign policy critiques” is that President Obama damaged the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom — and he can put things right.
Evan McMorris-Santoro fleshed out the larger point
Undergirding Mitt Romney’s trip to Europe and Israel this week was a single concept: President Obama has weakened the view of America in the eyes of foreign leaders thanks a policy of appeasement and “apology.” How the world views America is important, Romney said, and he’s going to see to it that America’s reputation overseas is bolstered on his watch.
Within 24 hours of Romney landing abroad, that premise had unraveled and Romney’s own top surrogates were scoffing at the notion that foreign opinions of America mattered at all to American voters.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/
KARMA; it’s what’s for BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER!
http://twitter.com/metaquest/status/228839494705639424/photo/1
Yet the JACKALS on cable tee vee are pushing gloom & doom for Obama!
I loathe these mofos; really I do.
Dishenfreude
A reader writes:
So, Mitt Romney is rebuked by a Tory Prime Minister famous for backing gay marriage, then he’s openly mocked in front of a stadium-sized London crowd by the mayor, and he reveals what he talked about with the head of MI6, and to boot he calls the country by the wrong name. This has got to be a 10 on your personal Schadenfreude meter.
Mine just went to 11. Not since “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” …
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/
LOL and then there’s “MR. LEADER” Romney isn’t trying to remember anyone’s name.
He is one DANGEROUS Muthafucka, because he lives in his own little universe of wannabe president, and everyone else, well. they can go to HELL.
Romney’s Central Foreign Policy Attack Against Obama Unravels
Undergirding Mitt Romney’s trip to Europe and Israel this week was a single concept: President Obama has weakened the view of America in the eyes of foreign leaders thanks to a policy of appeasement and “apology.” How the world views America is important, Romney said, and he’s going to see to it that America’s reputation overseas is bolstered on his watch.
Within 24 hours of Romney landing abroad, that premise had unraveled and Romney’s own top surrogates were scoffing at the notion that foreign opinions of America mattered at all to American voters.
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/mitt-romney-london-foreign-opinion.php
Admiral McRaven on bin Laden raid: One of history’s “great intelligence operations”
WOLF BLITZER, CNN: This is the guy who’s sitting right here who had the guts to tell the commander in chief we should do it, let’s do it. And when you ordered that raid and when you said you think you – you didn’t even know for sure that bin Laden was in Abbottabad at that compound about a mile or so away from the West Point of Pakistan, did you?
ADM. WILLIAM MCRAVEN, COMMANDER, U.S. SPECIAL OPERATIONS: Well, let me make one thing clear. I didn’t order the raid.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: But he told the president of the United States that he thought he could do it.
MCRAVEN: I mean, and this is not a small point. The fact of the matter is it was the president of the United States that ordered the raid.
BLITZER: And he deserves an enormous amount of credit for that decision.
MCRAVEN: Absolutely, he does.
(APPLAUSE)
BLITZER: And when he came to the head of special operations, that would be you, and said, what do you think, what did you say?
http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2012/07/26/admiral-mcraven-on-bin-laden-raid-one-of-historys-great-intelligence-operations/
In Mitt Romney’s pro-America rhetoric is subtle message that Barack Obama is not
By Alex Leary, Times Staff Writer
Posted: Jul 27, 2012 06:00 AM
Mitt Romney loves America.
Not just the land but the word. It dominates his speeches, appearing in some form 50 times in an address to veterans Tuesday in Nevada. Romney’s campaign slogan is Believe in America. On the stump, he sings America the Beautiful.
But amid the rallying call to a weary nation, Romney has been drawing a parallel portrait of President Barack Obama as someone who does not share, understand or believe in core American values. In speech after speech, Romney seems to be blowing a dog whistle: He is not one of us.
The subtle effort seeks to define Obama as out of touch and to raise doubts among voters who fear the country is on the decline. If voters believe Obama shares different values, then it’s easier to believe he is leading the country to ruin.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/in-mitt-romneys-pro-america-rhetoric-is-subtle-message-that-barack-obama/1242319
New Study Shows That Medicaid Expansion Really Does Save Lives
—By Kevin Drum
| Fri Jul. 27, 2012 3:00 AM PDT
Most of the recent conversation about Medicaid expansion has been about costs. If states decide not to participate in Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid, how much will it save the federal government? If they do decide to participate, how much will it cost the states?
But what about the benefits? What happens when more people are eligible for Medicaid? I usually caution people not to focus too much on death rates when they look at questions like this, since mortality is notoriously hard to measure. What’s more, the value of reliable medical care shows up far more in quality of life than it does in raw death rates. Decent dental care may not extend lifespans enough to show up in gross mortality statistics, but it’s sure as hell still worthwhile for the folks who get to keep their teeth intact.
That said, preventing unnecessary deaths is still an important metric of decent access to medical care. So how does Medicaid stack up on this score? A trio of Harvard researchers tackled that question by looking at three states that expanded Medicaid eligibility between 2000 and 2005 (Arizona, Maine, and New York) and comparing their change in mortality rates with nearby states that didn’t expand Medicaid eligibility. The chart below shows the results. In the expansion states, Medicaid enrollment went up dramatically, from 8% to 13% of the population. At the same time, mortality rates went down substantially, from 320 per 100,000 to 300 per 100,000.
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/07/new-study-shows-medicaid-expansion-really-does-save-lives
Good Morning, Everyone! :-)
Good Morning, Ametia and Everyone :)